The perils of modifying gear

[Marco]

Accurate at measuring electrical signals, the same electrical signals that make the music.



Think about it this way.

Either 'some' cable owners have fooled themselves, or every electrical engineer who ever build something sciency, and expensive and not hifi is wrong.
All those tunneling electron microscope designer- missing a trick.
All of NASA, missing a trick
The large hadron collider- missing a trick
Every military piece of hardware that plugs into the wall- missing a trick

Or 'some' hifi owners- fooled...

Just on the basis of probabilities alone, the chances of science being wrong is incredible.

It's as daft as believing in flying spaghetti monsters, and his less trendy alternatives.

Yes, Simon, but the key words there are "some" and "sometimes". Sure, some hi-fi owners will have been fooled, sometimes, with all sorts of things over the years (me included), just not ALL the time whenever someone hears something that doesn't conform to the contents of 'Johnny's Book of Physics', thus is automatically dismissed as 'imagined'.

Others and I have been experimenting in mains related areas with hi-fi equipment (mains leads, separate spurs, dedicated earths - all sorts of stuff), for YEARS. I first got into it in the mid 1990s, and since then have always heard differences (both improvements and non-improvements) with the various things I've tried.

In terms of mains leads, you don't even have to spend much to get something that performs better than a standard kettle lead.

I've got a lead constructed with Belden mains cable, fitted with quality, but not expensive connectors, and it cost me less than £30 - and that allows my system (even my 'lowly' home-cinema amp) to perform better than the poor quality items (in comparison) they were supplied with. It's not necessary to spend a fortune on these things, so one isn't always seduced by 'jewellery'.

Now, having heard easily discernible and repeatable differences with such mains leads in various different systems, with various different equipment, over the last 20-odd years, and then some EE comes along and tells me, ignore all that experience and everything you've heard to date, as it's all bollocks, I'm expected to just automatically do that...??

Come on! No-one who's got any faith in their judgement would

Therefore, I'll simply enjoy the genuine sonic benefits I *know* I've experienced, and when man-made science catches up with my God-given senses, we might get a proper explanation for what's going on, other than (rather lazily) automatically laying it at the door of being fooled...

Plus, as I've said, I believe that as much as people may sometimes be fooled by expectation bias, so are they also fooled by confirmation bias: the tendency to process information in a way that conforms to one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses. I suspect that quite a few objectivists in particular, suffer from the latter

Marco.

[F575M]

From Peter Aczel's The Audio Critic, October 2006.

"There is one particular audio fraud, however, that requires no science but just ordinary common sense to see through. I’m talking about power cords—yes, those short lengths of flexible insulated cable that go between your wall outlet and your audio gear. The big lie is that they hugely affect the sound. The ads tell you that if you pay $499 or $995* or some such insane amount for a specially designed super cord, you will get a bigger soundstage, better transients, tighter bass, smoother highs, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. Amazingly, quite a few nonthinking audiophiles with deep pockets buy these fantasy cords.

Now, just think about it. The AC current comes into your residence over miles and miles of wire. After it enters the walls of your house or apartment, it again traverses huge lengths of BX cable or similar wiring. After it comes out of your wall outlet through the power cord and enters your amplifier or other equipment, it again goes through a maze of wiring before activating the devices that affect the sound. So, tell me, how does the electricity know where the nondescript lo-fi wiring stops and the super wire—just six feet of it—starts and leaves off? Does the current say, hey, I’m coming out of the wall now, the next six feet are crucial? Come on. The power cord represents an infinitesimal fraction of the AC current’s total path. Even if the wire in the power cord were so much better, it would have to be stretched all the way back to the power station to make a difference! It’s pure bull on the face of it; no science needed. The fact is that any power cord rated to handle domestic AC voltages and currents is as good as any other. The power cord that came with your amplifier or receiver will give you optimum performance. If you have to buy an extra one, just make sure it’s thick enough in gauge for heavy-duty equipment. If you pay more than a few bucks, you’ve been had. (Besides, as I’ve stated a number times before, your audio circuits don’t know and don’t care what’s on the AC side of the power transformer. What they’re interested in is the DC voltages they need. But that’s engineering science…)"

PS: Nordost Odin, the retail price as of today is $16,999.99 for a 1.25 meter length; additional 1.25 meter increments are $4,999.99.

Cheers,

[Marco]

Each to his or her own I guess, Horacio. Theories are one thing, practical experience is another.

As I said, however, I've got a very good 'no-nonsense' mains power lead here, from Belden, who supply various types of high-quality cables for professional installations and broadcast use that cost me £30.00, not $16,999.99, and which subtly improves (but in a very worthwhile way) the SQ of the components to which it's connected.

I don't buy into the 'night and day' difference thing, with any cables. If that's the effect gained, then chances are there was something pretty wrong with what was being used before, or the new 'wonder cables' are tailoring the sound like a tone control - and that's definitely not for me.

In terms of mains leads, I simply see it as 'good housekeeping', in any capable hi-fi system, to use something that contains high-quality parts (wire and connectors), just like the components used inside the equipment itself.

For me, it just seems a bit odd to power, say, a £20k amplifier, where every aspect of its design has been painstakingly tuned for maximum performance, with as you say some "nondescript lo-fi wiring". It simply goes against the grain to use something that hasn't at least been reasonably well-engineered and screwed together for its purpose, and which to my ears, usually makes a difference.

It'd be rather like fitting a plastic clip-frame to a Picasso.

Marco.

[sq225917]

It doesn't seem odd to me to use a kettle lead on a 100K amp, because short of using wire too thin to pass the max current draw it'll make no difference, assuming the contacts aren't arcing. And there's never been a comparison done that shows otherwise.

If it's audible, it's measurable... If it's not then it's just fanciful...

[Marco]

In your opinion, but please remember that this is primarily a subjectivist forum, so refrain from using words such as 'fanciful' to describe other people's genuine experiences. I won't tell you (or Jez) that again.

You can express your POV perfectly well without demeaning that of others.

Marco.

[Joe]

It'd be rather like fitting a plastic clip-frame to a Picasso.

Marco.

Would a plastic clip-frame be any worse, in context, than, say, a heavily ornate gold frame? What would be the 'correct' frame to use for a Picasso?

[Marco]

There's no 'correct' frame as such, Joe, although an ornate gold 'swept' frame would be the norm when displayed in galleries.

The point I'm making is that a plastic clip-frame would simply be out of place in that context, just as would, say, velour car seats on a Bentley, a pot noodle on the menu of a Michelin-starred restaurant, pouring ketchup onto some Dover sole, trainer laces fitted to a pair of handmade leather shoes - or using a nondescript 'kettle lead' to power a piece of high-end hi-fi equipment.

My point is that the brief (when creating something of genuine excellence) should be consistent, from start to finish, with every constituent component being of equal (or the requisite) high quality, and IMO, that applies to the design of hi-fi equipment, and the cables it requires to perform optimally (sonically), just as much as anything else.

Marco.

[Joe]

Fair enough. My 'thing' is books. As far as I'm concerned, the criteria for any book are that a) the print must be legible and b) if it's a scholarly text (as opposed to a throwaway novel) it should have useful introductory material and references, and a comprehensive index. I couldn't care less about the binding, whether the book is hardback or paperback, or whether it still has its dustjacket, or whether it's signed by the author. Indeed, I'd actually prefer a clean, legible paperback to a fancy special edition, if the former had a clearer typeface. A bibliophile/book collector would have different, almost exactly opposite criteria.

Much advertising, especially of luxury goods, is predicated on the basis of 'You deserve the best, this is the best. Only discriminating individuals like you will appreciate just how good this thing is'. I won't pretend to be immune from such messages, but as I get older and (I hope) wiser, I become better at spotting the spin. In audio terms, this is how much 'fancy' equipment is sold; another angle is the 'bespoke' one: 'You are too good for the standard issue that everyone else buys. What you need is my 'modded' version, which elevates the basic product to a whole new level'. Not all of this is spin, no doubt there are genuine improvements to be had, but it can be hard to distinguish what constitutes a real improvement, as opposed to a difference, especially once you've 'invested' your hard-earned cash.

As for fancy mains cables, I've tried them several times on both source and amplification and heard no difference. The only one I still own (a purple Nordost something-or-other) now connects the TV to the mains, as it's the only one long enough to reach the socket.

[jandl100]

I hear differences between mains cables. Always. Every single different one I have tried makes my system sound different to me, without exception.
I don't care if some folks think I am deluded.
I will spend my money how I wish.

[jandl100]

After my recent crossover mod which I have lived with for a few weeks, after having spent a few months with cheap components of the same value, I am seriously impressed by the improvement foo parts have made.

So much so I am trying hard not to spend stupid money on some really silly stupidly expensive caps.

Got them yet, Justin?